CHON

As usual it's a very succinct collection: twelve songs in just over 39-minutes. But the reformed quartet (a new bassist appears on half the tracks) stuffs every available inch of the limited performance space with enough music to fill several lesser albums, all of it tightly secured inside a finely knotted mesh of interlocked guitars and busy pinpoint drumwork.

The album's up-to-the-minute digital pop sheen and occasional hip-hop styling might alienate the more conservative old-school Progheads among us. Trendy guest producers were enlisted to dress and manicure a few of the tracks, in at least one instance ("Berry Streets") spoiling a delicate melody with gimmicky dropped beats, distracting fractures, and ultra-hip epileptic edits.

The silver lining is a mood of pristine optimism perfectly timed for our troubled young millennium: the musical equivalent of a day at the beach in San Diego (the band's hometown), sunbathing under cloudless skies. That same warmth is likewise reflected in the album's tropical artwork and sanguine title, which I first read as the more colloquial "Homie". In truth, either name is appropriate: these guys were buddies before they were bandmates.

It's encouraging to hear such invigorating dexterity and breathless instrumental precision in a group of musicians still in their early twenties. The new set may not advance the unique CHON style too far beyond their year 2015 debut album "Grow". But it's an easy effort to recommend, not least for the added perks: the compact disc edition includes a promotional air freshener and, in place of lyrics, a tasty banana nut-loaf recipe from second guitarist Erick Hansel. Food for your mind and stomach: you can't get much more progressive than that.

After a pair of self-released warm-up EPs, the group has finally recorded its debut full-length album, although 'full-length' might be an exaggeration: the whole thing is only 34-minutes long, and recycles half the contents of their 2014 "Woohoo!" EP. But the repeat selections are at least presented in new (and improved) arrangements, including the song "Echo" (formerly "Ecco"), one of only two vocal tracks floating like shallow atolls in a roiling ocean of Fripp-like guitar pointillism.

A lot of the album sounds like it might have started life as conventional pop music, and still carries a lingering trace of that same DNA. But the gamma-ray effect of all the energized twin-guitar gymnastics effectively mutated the results into something else entirely: not really Post or Math Rock; not really Jazz or Fusion; but definitely eclectic and thus highly recommended.

The most encouraging thing about CHON might be the relative youth of the players. Like the first wave of Progressive Rock pioneers in the late 1960s, these are kids willing to swim against the commercial mainstream in pursuit of a more demanding muse. And yet they aren't exactly rebels: all four had the good manners to thank their parents in the CD booklet, a gesture that only underlines their appeal, at least to this father of two.

The band's name, by the way, is supposedly an acronym of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen. If true, the moniker certainly fits the music, sharing an egghead's appreciation of scientific methodology and elemental beauty..."the poetry of logical ideas", quoting Albert Einstein, who might have been a CHON fanboy in an alternate life.

The EP's title spells out their collective exuberance; the music itself does likewise, in five brief instrumental workouts plus one actual song, all of them models of polyrhythmic economy: bright and busy, but otherwise hard to define. The reliably misinformed Wikipedia cluelessly labels them a "progressive metal band". On the band's Facebook page, under the heading 'genre', they define their own style with an unfussy "doesn't matter", quote unquote.

That's a very healthy attitude for a quartet of precocious young musicians barely out of school, in just two words revealing a sense of modesty and confidence rarely found in a digitized generation typically obsessed with its social network insecurities, especially inside the hive-minds of Facebook and Twitter. Or is that just the ageism of a born-again Luddite rearing its grizzled head again?

The music is full of jazzy hyperactive ornamentation, while still managing to be surprisingly melodic. The group doesn't outstay its welcome, and won't burden the listener with any concept or message beyond the uncomplicated optimism of their music, and the joy they take from playing it. And if that isn't a hallmark of truly progressive (as opposed to Prog) Rock, I don't know what is...

But I've always considered it the other way around: as an endorsement of unlikely artistic collisions. What's wrong with dancing about architecture anyway? Sounds like a noble pursuit, to this left-footed wallflower. And what would a dance about architecture even look like?

I can't answer that. But I can show you what it might sound like, by introducing an absurdly young but accomplished quartet from San Diego calling themselves CHON.

As of this writing the band hasn't been around very long. But in only a few short years they've managed to attract a devoted cult audience for their modest yet elegant Math Rock algorithms: nimble twin-guitar filigrees arranged with pinpoint dexterity and precision. CHON play fast and they play hard, but at the same time are incredibly light on their collective toes, dancing around each note with an easy grace that belies the intricacy of the musical architecture.

They certainly don't believe in wasting anyone's time, either. Three of the seven titles on the band's debut effort clock in well short of one-minute, with the briefest of these - the colorfully titled "wut the.. (poop)" - barely cracking the ten-second mark. The entire package is less than 14-minutes long, hardly enough to even qualify as an actual EP, but ideal for busy Progheads with finely calibrated attention spans.

In the end this initial recording may not add up to anything more than a quick tease, presented with tentative expectations. Consider it a surprise valentine from a secret admirer you didn't know existed.

The first track is a nice introduction that does not represent the band's sound, instead they bring us acoustic guitar moments that let us know the guitar man's skills. With "Knot" the math rock element appears but perfectly blend with a jazzy and fusion style, something that I think was not that evident on their first EP. "Ecco" has another new element: vocals. For the first time they put voice and lyrics on one of their pieces, and they do it nice. The rhythm is semi slow, charming and sensual at the same time. Easy to dig, a bit poppish but nice anyways.

"Sketch" offers the (I think) true CHON sound. Pure math rock with some djent and jazzy nuances. There are both fast and slow moments that are perfectly structured by these four musicians who know how to take advantage of their guitars, bass and drums. This is probably my favorite track from their two EPs.

"Dust" is a softer track, once again they bring acoustic guitar giving us a moment of relaxation and why not, introspection. Finally "Suda", which is a nice math rock track that ends this nice EP. With this improvement, I am now sure that their full-length album (which I am yet to listen) will bring me a positive experience.

*Now don't pay attention to my rating, because as a reviewer I have my "own rules" which don't allow me to rate releases under 20 minutes with more than 2 stars, unless it is the EP or single of my life.

Enjoy it!

Here in Mexico I've been reading a lot of comments regarding this US band named CHON, a relatively new project by four musicians whose likes go from emo core to math rock, passing through djent and even metal. Later I saw they were included here in Prog Archives so I immediately wanted to know more about them and of course, listen to their music. Fortunately, I found their first EP available at their bandcamp site, because I wanted to dig them from the very beginning, before listening to their first full-length album.

What I found here in Newborn Sun, is a nice bunch of seven short instrumental songs that gives us the band's first steps. Labelling them as a math rock band fits perfectly, however there are moments in which they tend to bring sounds closer to emo and hardcore. The music is easy to dig, so anyone could listen and enjoy these 15 minutes without feeling bored, however, I believe there are not outstanding moments, no memorable track that I would highly suggest, no, but it is a nice first effort which marks the start of a new project, and that I assume led to the production of their first full-length album.

My favorite tracks were "Fluffy" and "Dew". I suggest this EP to math rock and djent lovers, you will have a good time. Enjoy it!